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Asasue
that he is sensing real objects. Though there is experience outside of this event, the Shinobi can never know which moments are illusion and which are reality - or set aside the possibility that his whole life is an illusion and that there is no real world. Within this conclusion, the only certainty is the existence of the illusion: whether it is the one of the false world or those that are created within the actual reality, the existence of them cannot be denied, and as such they are to be considered the measure for all else we perceive.|"Shiangenni", Chapter 1, page 13}} | homecountry = | affiliation = | previous affiliation = | occupation = Author, Scientist | previous occupation = | team = | previous team = | partner = | previous partner = | family = (Mother) | rank = | classification = | reg = | academy = | chunin = | jonin = | kekkei = | tota = | beast = | hiden = | nature = File:200px-Nature Icon Yin.svg.png | jutsu = | tools = Getsuruitō }} Asasue (朝末, Asasue) is a , researcher, scientist and recognized author from , famous for her literary work on the topic of . Once a respected of the Konoha Military Forces, she became interested in genjutsu from a young age, partially due to her mother's affliction. Originally a quest to find a cure for her parent, it soon became her life-long passion, and at the age of 23 Asasue retired from the military to pursue her passion full-out. Travelling across the Great Shinobi Countries without her or any other sign of affiliation, she was able to meet and discuss with the greatest minds and warriors of her age and use their experiences to improve on her work. Over the years, Asasue has published two major works: Tokaīnōi (韜晦隠蔽; "hiding in concealment") and Shiangenni (思案幻に, "meditations on illusions"), with a third one being in writing at the moment. In addition to this she has published various papers and commentaries, both practical and philosophical, many of which have been regarded as ground-breaking and revolutionizing. Asasue's penmanship is found in the libraries of all major villages and a lot of her discoveries and theories are utilized at as the basic for their genjutsu teachings. Asasue's name is most commonly associated with the illusion argument, a theory brought up in Shiangenni that holds one cannot be certain, at any given point in time, that one is not under the effect of genjutsu. Appearance Personality Asasue is a solipsist, an adherent of the philosophical idea that only one's own mind is sure to exist. It is an ideology she became convince of through her daily contact with . One should note that Asasue is not actually convinced there exist no other minds or an external world; she regards the existence of an external world as an unsolvable question rather than actually false. This causes her interaction with others to generally be strained and awkward, since she is not actually interested in establishing social relationships. Asasue is a woman completely devoted to the study of , to the point of obsession almost. Very rarely is she shown expressing emotions beyond the interest for her research and even less frequently has she shown to make any kind of reference to her past or her personal feelings about things. Asasue does not disrespect or ignore others, she simply does not get involved in them beyond superficial contact simply because she doesn't consider the possibility that the person standing in front of her might actually be a part of reality. One might remark that despite Asasue's beliefs, she engages in a lot of activities that, when taking into consideration the uncertainty about a reality, might appear pointless. But that is not how Asasue views such acts herself. Her research, her writing and even the few social contacts that come around once a full moon do not necessarily diminish in value merely because they could all just be nothing but figments of her imagination. Taking the fact that true knowledge about anything but one's own mind as a reason to no longer engage in any interaction with anything but the latter is an isolated and ultimately worthless existence. One could argue that even though the outside world may not exist, the fact that an interpretation of it exists within the mind might be an indicator that the latter is meant to be interacted with. Even though it might just be "living in an illusion", there are few alternatives that are pleasurable enough to consider them over it. Even if all of Asasue's work does not exist anywhere but as a thought in her mind, that is still enough for her to continue pursuing its completion. History Synopsis Abilities Genjutsu Master of Deception: *'Chiru' (韜晦隠蔽; "scatter/blur/die a noble death"); When an illusion is cast, there is often a 'knot' of somewhere, a focal point where most of the user's attention is spent. During painful illusions this might be the torture device or instrument of pain, during more hallucinatory experiences this might be the image the user wants to show and so on. While a genjutsu generally replaces the current world of the target, the farther away from that focus, the less attention to detail there is: no will bother imagining what lies beyond the horizon of . However, when the target becomes aware of the genjutsu and has the ability to break it, this also makes it painfully easy for them to notice where the hostile chakra flow is positioned thus allowing them to escape. Chiru is a technique that seeks to circumvent this weak spot in two ways: misdirection and the incorporation of a real-life object. However, mixing an actual object into an illusion without actually influencing it is no easy task: in order for Chiru to be effective, the object must have no connection at all to the genjutsu: it must exist as a coincidentally unaffected obstacle. The way Chiru works is by making the target belief this object is the focal point of the genjutsu. They will consequentially try to dissipate the illusion, but because they believe - subconsciously or not - that that very object is the illusion, the only thing they accomplish is waste their chakra. There are no real limits what this object may be: it can be an actual physical entity, but it could just well as be an emotion, a feeling, pain. It could be part of the victim's body even. Asasue demonstrated this with a in a very basic manner: she would flip a coin that would always land heads, then ask him what the illusion is. He would of course say that it is the coin, or at the very least that the coin is part of the illusion. She would then show him the tails side and say he figured it out, but when he then would try to walk away he'd find there was no earth under his feet. The coin had been a real one that was imprinted heads on both sides and she had switched it once he had claimed it was an illusion: by diverting his attention to the coin and putting it in a situation where it was the most likely candidate, she was able to hide the actual genjutsu hidden in the background, which no one really pays attention to anyway. *'Shinkako' (新過去, "new past"): *'Byōshiki' (病識, "consciousness of being ill"): Impervious to Illusion: *'Negaeru' (寝返る, "change sides"): Torture Mistress: While she never intended her work to be violent or harmful in any way, as she progressed throughout the ranks of genjutsu Asasue began to recognize that purposefully avoiding the area of pain and displeasure was hindering her research. After a while, she began to see harm as nothing but a bodily reaction, separate of any personal intent towards where she was causing it. As such, she has never utilized her illusions for the sake of torture, but that does not take away from the fact that she is very potent with it and that it can appear as a side-effect, from time to time. Asasue is capable of freely creating, enlarging and displacing pain, physical, mental and emotional. Exceptional Architect: *'Ukishizumi' (浮き沈み, "ebbing and flowing"): a very large but often overlooked aspect of genjutsu is interaction: an illusion does not exist in the outside world, does not have a physical or spiritual presence anywhere but in the mind of the target. The genjutsu itself does not possess any will or motive to move on its own: it is generally directed by the caster to twist and turn in such a manner that the target will experience what the user wants them to. is thus not hard in itself, as the illusion does not exist in the first place: it relies on the interaction with the victim, and if the victim severs this bond the image will dispel. Ukishizumi is a principle that abuses this fact by turning the workings of the genjutsu around: rather than the image being dependent on the caster, it becomes dependent on the target. It uses the delay between thought and action to reinvent itself in such a way that the target witnesses what they want or expect to happen. If the target becomes aware of the illusion and wants to dispel it, the illusion will adapt itself as to display the reality of itself shattering, while actually still remaining active. Even if the target possesses a capable of detecting and breaking genjutsu, the illusion will detect this intention before the target can execute it and simulate this event without it actually taking place. Ukishizumi is so reactive it basically makes it impossible for a solitary victim to escape the illusion without proper preparations. Of course, the technique has no effect on the efforts of an outside source. *'Shitengai' (私天涯, "personal horizon"): *'Hoinaikotae' (本意無い答, "unwilling response"): Asasue has studied the human subconscious fervently, both within a psychological and illusionairy context and her findings have allowed her to impeach on the reflexes and other involuntary actions. Though these normally lie beyond the grasp of genjutsu users, who venture in the realm of experiences and active thoughts, Asasue has peeled the possibilities of illusion so far back she can control them as easily as any other genjutsu user could twist an optical fallacy. She can untie the knots instincts have formed and then connect somewhere else, affecting the heartbeat, breathing and whatever else the victim himself has no other conscious control over. During the times her research was still funded by Konoha, she even experimented with the instinctive drowning response, though she was soon cut off when an assistant reported one of the volunteers almost died, stating that "volunteer was choking on air". *'Yōbōkōjigen' (予謀続示現, "premeditation leading to celestial manifestation"): when creating genjutsu with the intent of deception, most casters have trouble with the creation of objects that are realistic enough not to be debunked upon close inspection. This is because, when attempting to replicate a familiar entity, the victim will subconsciously pick up on small details that are off or missing, even if they are not apparent at first sight. They may not be able to tell what exactly is wrong or it may only manifest as a hunch, but this alone is enough for the victim to become aware of the illusion should they have sufficient experience in dealing with them. The importance of this flaw is up for discussion - one could argue then when recreating an entire environment, such details can easily be foregone as long as the caster can direct the attention of their target away from them. But of course, when dealing with more refined situations, such as masking a poisoned drink or covering up a trap, even the tiniest marge of error can result in failure and possible exposure of the genjutsu user. Then again, accounting for each of these details in the midst of action is a near impossible task. That is why Asasue devised the system of Yōbōkōjigen, both as an object of her research and for the purpose of utilizing it herself. It involves creating almost a "template" of associated with a certain object, which the user can then access and place within an illusion almost immediately. By studying the desired object, incorporating all details within a genjutsu and then memorizing the energy pattern of said genjutsu, the user can almost effortlessly recreate an illusion of any of the objects they handled through this process. Of course, this is not a task that is easily or quickly accomplished. Even forging something as simple as a cup of tea requires a truckload of different aspects that have to be attended to - shape, smell, weight, texture, humidity, temperature, taste, feeling and the various interactions with skin, other objects, when it is knocked over... Each object the user wants to replicate in the future has to be studied with extreme care and precision before it can be coded into a genjutsu. Asasue has become so familiar with this way of looking at the world that it has become almost an automatism to her. Even during her daily proceedings, she almost subconsciously records various details of everything banal and mundane. *'Kō' (劫, "kalpa"); named after the arrangement in Go that allows for the eternal capture and recapture of the same stones, Kō allows for the creation of a perpetual genjutsu, one that constantly and infinitely creates additional illusions within itself without the need for expenditure of on the user's part. While an actual perpetual motion is largely considered to be impossible due to energy loss, the concept is applicable for genjutsu due to them not existing within the actual world. Asasue herself, however, has admitted that the technique is not as infinite as it implies, but the concept of it might be perfected one day. Experiments resulted in one test subject breaking through 164 consequential illusions before giving up. Of course, there is also a big psychological aspect to the technique: the victim will have to break through so many layers of genjutsu there might come a point where they can no longer determine whether their current world is real or not and give up or continue to dispel even if they're no longer subject to the technique. It seems the technique deals with a copious amount of energy, that once the genjutsu activates actually seems to turn on itself, "eluding the illusion" to forcibly spawn more without ever running out of power. Though not her original intent, Asasue has noted it's one of the more 'crude' ways to overcome , as the replicating effect happens fast enough for them to never truly peer reality, running them out of chakra eventually if they don't succumb to psychological stress first. Advanced Applications of Basic Techniques: *'Attoiuma' (あっと言う間, "the time it takes to say 'Ah!'"); perception of time is a key ingredient of any illusion, in fact one might even say it's the premier reason genjutsu can be so effective in the first place for without it, the results wouldn't be very efficient in comparison to the risk and cost the user suffers. Asasue is a master of temporal manipulation, capable of stretching each second of reality into days within a world of her choosing. Attoiuma is a specific technique within this mastery, one she favors to combat opposing users. As is commonly known, possessors of eyes such as the and are largely impervious to normal genjutsu and even Asasue's face trouble when going toe-to-toe. But despite all their fame and glory, those fabled eyes are still, well, eyes. They are soft, vulnerable tissues that are easily damaged or smudged and as such they are subject to an omnipresent reflex: blinking. Though seemingly an insignificant window of opportunity, to someone who has spent far more years in genjutsu then she'll ever live to see like Asasue, that instant is more than enough time to ensnare her opponent in an illusion and stretch that splinter of a second out long enough for her to completely crush them. Of course, the latter is purely theoretical, since Asasue is not a fighter but a researcher. *'Kamisaimin' (神催眠, "god-induced hypnotism"); genjutsu aims to beguile the senses: this is nothing but common knowledge. In most cases the sight and hearing are targeted along with the sense of pain. When Asasue takes this route, however, she induce an hypnosis that allows her to control the five senses to the point where it can make the target misinterpret another person's form, shape, mass, feel, and smell to be an enemy's. But even beyond that, she is capable of controlling nociception, equilibrioception, thermoception, proprioception and various interoceptions. What is so dangerous about this hypnosis that the trigger can be an experience of any one of these numerable senses: from the traditional visual sign to a shift in room temperature. As long as the target's brain picks up this willfully induced phenomenon, it opens itself up to the accompanying illusion. Not even dōjutsu are exempt from the more illusive of these, such as illusions tied to the deceleration of the body or the feeling of suffocation if carbon dioxide levels get to high within the brain. Though the genjutsu does not prevent the target from being aware it is being hypnotized, it can make it very hard for them to break out: by fiddling with the kinesthetic sense the victim may be unable to form the proper to dispel the technique and overloading the pain receptors can blur out all outside attempts at disrupting the hypnosis. Kamisaimin can even be raised to another level by combining it with Byōshiki, preventing the target even from being aware of the illusion. Though this is hard, even for Asasue, because it takes a while to set up and is an effort both mentally and energetically taxing, if achieved it is truly a "perfect hypnosis" (完全催眠, kanzen saimin). *'Genshintsū' (幻心痛, "phantom mind pain"); genjutsu simulates events within the mind of its victim: in most cases there is a large audiovisual factor which while effective is also very recognizable. What is often overlooked by both parties is how the body itself reacts when under a genjutsu: sweat builds up when a fire is seemingly burning nearby, reflexes kick in, adrenaline and hormones are produced more or less rapidly depending on the situation etc. Asasue has learned to cast illusions that only target these kind of results and utilizes them both independently as well as mixed within other genjutsu. Through simulating various conditions within the target's mind, the user can trigger certain reflexes and bodily mechanisms without the target even being aware of it. This can include adjusting the speed of breathing and heart rate, cause surging fevers and even go as far as influencing cell division and protein production, even allowing Asasue to instill diseases such as cancer through hypnotism alone. *'Mikaneru' (見兼ねる, "unable to let pass unnoticed"): a technique that originated from experimenting with the conditioning of animals via genjutsu, Asasue is capable of redirecting and pinpointing the attention of anything that falls under her genjutsu, to the point of obsession. Though it is quite a simple trick, it can actively prevent someone from even attempting to escape the illusion: even if they have realized that they're under it, they just cannot take their mind off that one thing Asasue has focused their attention on long enough to go to the procedure of breaking it. *'Edasei' (枝精, split end of mind): the saying goes that the mind is like a sword, requiring sharpening and care if it wants to stay sharp. Asasue has honed her mind throughout the years and made it a weapon knowing no equal, allowing her to utilize it in unprecedented ways. She is capable of conducting multiple intricate lines of thought at once and translates this into the ability of inducing various illusions within several targets simultaneously, with each one being unique in its workings and purpose. Asasue can even undermine a hostile genjutsu against her while at the same time maintaining hers, regardless of the other parties. In fact, the degree of control she exerts over her mental self is so great she has shown effective immunity to all techniques of the she has been subjected to although she herself has stated that should a member reach sufficient skill she could fall victim just as well. Among other things, this technique also allows Asasue to operate within an illusion and in the real world simultaneously - giving her a massive advantage whenever she is challenged to a fight. While the opponent struggles to break her illusions, she can simply walk up to their motionless body and take them out. Tsukujutsu Tsukujutsu (月術; Literally "Moon Techniques"): Over her years, Asasue found her constantly pushing the borders of further and further, in an insatiable desire to discover an "absolute truth" in the field. Eventually, when she stopped to see where she had arrived, she realized how much she had strayed from the actual technique and decided to classify these techniques differently, that way she could still study genjutsu without it intermingling with this new form she had created. Tsukujutsu finds it roots in genjutsu, but it goes well beyond what genjutsu could ever hope to accomplish. In tsukujutsu, the differences between reality and illusion become blurred, non-existent almost. The closest thing one would find in genjutsu would be , but even that technique is far below the realm tsukujutsu occupies. Not necessarily exponentially more powerful or dangerous, tsukujutsu does only not stand above genjutsu because of what it is capable of, tsukujutsu is a philosophy, a way of mind only those possessing it can understand. It is both transcendental and primordial: what the power of was for , so is Asasue's might for genjutsu. Tsukujutsu is not something can be explained through words or text, only when experienced can one hope to grasp some of its meaning. Asasue has divulged that Tsukujutsu does not really deal with illusions, but rather with Phases (位相, Isō). These are states of the world, which in this context refers to the entire universe or reality itself, in which a layer is applied over the world, acting like a veil or filter, and changes how the world appears to be. Powerful beings, such as the and have had the effect of applying various phases to the world throughout history, without their knowledge. Asasue, through Tsukujutsu, can influence and travel between these phases. *'Himesōtai' (秘め総体, The Whole, Veiled) *'Yabusōtai' (破れた総体, The Whole, Shattered) Intelligence Works *'Tokaīnōi' (韜晦隠蔽; "hiding in concealment"): *'Shiangenni' (思案幻に, "meditations on illusions"): Trivia *Her appearance is based off Imari Ai from the Pupa series.